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Monday, September 14, 2009

City wins prestigious website design award

The City of Calgary has won a prestigious international award recognizing “the highest standards of excellence in website design and development” under the category of ‘Government’ for CalgaryInfrastructure.ca.

The website was evaluated based on five criteria: design, content, feature functionality, usability and standards compliance. According to an IMA Judges Notification, CalgaryInfrastructure.ca “excelled in all areas … and represents a very high standard of planning, execution and overall professionalism” and scored a total of 466 points out of 500.

Launched in June, the website features an interactive map that identifies more than 250 capital projects currently funded by The City’s approved 2009 – 2013 capital budget. The projects’ details, construction schedule and progress status, sources of funding and project costs can all be tracked online via the map. In some instances photos and videos of construction progress are also available.

"Calgary is the first major municipality in Canada to provide a detailed and comprehensive,interactive and innovative, report to its citizens and partners on how we are spending capital dollars," said Mayor Dave Bronconnier at the awards presentation. "From public transit to roads, fire halls to parks, state of the art water treatment plants to recycling facilities, you’ll see changes in all walks of life. These capital projects also provide a boost to our local economy."

The website was developed and built entirely in-house at a cost of $25,000, now shares lofty company with past winners like New York Economic Development Corporation, NASA and the British Home Office.

According to their website, the Interactive Media Council, Inc. (IMC), “is a non-profit organization of leading web designers, developers, programmers, advertisers and other web-related professionals, the competition is designed to elevate the standards of excellence on the Internet.

In addition to winning the award, the City announced that the website has increased the number of infrastructure projects listed to 250.

“This update continues our commitment to transparency and accountability to citizens for the capital budget,” said Bronconnier. “Our capital program is an investment of more than $6 billion in Calgary’s infrastructure over the next five years that will benefit our community and stimulate the local economy.”

As a way of tooting our own horn, feel free to visit The City of Calgary Awards page to learn more about The City’s achievement in the areas of City Planning, Community Services, Corporate Stewardship and the Environment.